_ featured video

ReFeatured: When you're wrong, you're wrong. With respect to Mr Åberg's detective work, we have to concede that this is Paul Petras, and not, alas, Paul Cinquevalli.

======

Original, outdated feature text: Jtv says_ Our arts outlive us. A friend of Jtv's does some nice 1-hat-and-2-ball work. We happened to witness him starting to learn this stuff, from another of our pals. We have a vague idea of where *he* might have got it from, but it's certainly interesting to theoretically trace the historic path of juggling routines and ideas. Has Kris Kremo heard of the Burns Brothers? Israfilov know Grachinow? Does Elsewhere dig The Two Souleys? Mr Motion twig Edna Squire Brown? Mark Nizer ever chat to Trixie?

With the thought that each generation brings something new of their own to a prop/trick/routine, and harking back to our first-mentioned friend, check out this freshly-unearthed video from 1895 of Paul Cinquevalli.

Reasons why we think the juggler in this clip is Paul Cinquevalli:
The film clip is dated 1895. Cinquvalli would have been 36 in 1895, so the juggler looks about the right age. The entry for the clip refers to a "German vaudeville performer". PC was originally German. Moustache. Hairstyle, parting on the left. Face! All correlate with known photographs of PC.
Costume: Tassled and braided leotard, over leggings and long sleeves. Ornate wrist bracers. Again, as per photos of PC. The photos half-way down this page , on the right hand side, are almost exactly the same, costume-wise.

An imagined conversation:

---

Camera crew: Hey, you're the juggler right? Can you just quickly do your canonball trick for us?

PC: "Just quickly"? No, I have to warm up for that, and stretch first.

CC: Oh, well, can you do anything for us?

PC: OK, OK, I'll do a little something for you......

---

Charlie Holland from the Circus Space is an expert on Cinquevalli, and also agrees that it's him in the clip.

erik_aberg_ 64 months
“The juggler on the film is Paul Petras and not Paul Cinquevalli. The film was made by the Skladanowski Brothers and premiered in Wintergarten in 1895. Paul Cinquevalli was not german, but Prussian. Petras was from Berlin though, which matches the description. Regarding the costume, there were thousands of artist with costumes like that.
Cinquevalli wore a wig, and not always the same one.
Your imagined conversation I find very questionable. Film was something really rare at this time, and the attitude of your conversation applies more to a casual, improvised situation. If you were captured on film at this time for sure it was a big deal. I have 100+ photos of Cinquevalli and none look like this man.”

erik_aberg_ 96 months
“No, you are wrong. Changing shape of the head wasn´t discovered until the 20´s. Rastelli could do it skipping rope with a ring spinning on the leg. I think there´s acctually a video of it here on juggling.tv.”

hatch_ 97 months
“I think it does look a lot like him, and you're wrong. Plus it's a really old video - it might be the wrong shape.”

erik_aberg_ 99 months
“This is not Cinquevalli. It doesn´t look at all like him. The shape of his head is totally different, plus Cinquevalli had a cauliflower ear (left side), this guy has not. Would be great to see a real video of Paul Cinquevalli but unfortunately this is not it.”